I haven't heard anything on the forum about the Environmental PE exam...whether it was easy, tough, reasonable...any comments!! I thought most of the numerical questions were quite straightforward (or at least thats what I assumed!!!!) but I'm not so sure about some of the qualitative questions, especially the ones relating to regulations, some were really strange.

Hoping that some of the guesses work my way and I can scrap through with a 70..we'll see!!!

I took the Oct 07 Environmental Exam....I guess there isn't really much to say...this was my second time taking it, so the format, etc. was not particularly surprising. Some ?'s almost seemed ridiciously easy, and some I don't think I could've figured out if I had all day. It is kind of difficult to talk about the Env. Exam without getting into too much detail. Based on the 2 exams I took, and what I have heard from others, it seems like (in the afternoon at least) they kind of pick one topic and relate several questions to that topic, regardless of the question category is supposed to be. So you REALLY have to understand what the question is asking you to do. To me, it seems like 9 times out of 10, the question reads a lot more complicated than what you really have to do to solve it. At least that is what I assumed. We'll see if this is correct in a couple months!

I am in the same boat as CVA07...second time through the wringer. I did not have as much time to study as I would have liked, but I went in with a 'Let's see how I do this time' attitude. I took the exam the first time in Denver with about 1,000 people in the room, and I think my test taking anxiety took over. This time I took it in a smaller venue (Grand Junction), and did not feel like my brain was an empty sponge. I felt more confident this time, but like CAV07, we shall see! Only 10 more weeks...WOO HOO.

I took the enviro exam in oct 2007 from columbus ohio ..... u r right some questions seemed very easy ... but NCEES review materials shows that questions which seems very very easy are not actually easy .... there is a trick involved ..... I hope we are correct.

lot of questions on partition of organic stuff in soil .... did not know much i guessed there...

qualitative questions ... some were straight forward ... but some were waste of time as only knowledge of the area will answer those questions...

second time here buddy .... took it first in oct 2006 .... did not study much ... guessed a lot .... but this time better .....

i thought morning half was easier than afternoon half ... any takers ???

I agree...the afternoon seemed more difficult. I made more guesses on the afternoon than I would have liked. I may have exaggerated a little on the number of people taking the exam my first time...it just felt like about 1,000 people. Most Coloradans take the exam in Denver. Good luck to all!

I don't remember much about the a.m. portion...I do remember thinking there seemed to be a lot more water treatment questions than wastewater. I am not familiar with much of the Industrial Hygiene stuff, and I think they write out the remediation questions a lot harder than they need to be for practical use, so I did find the afternoon part pretty tricky.

"You will need approximately of 45 to 50 of the 80 points to pass the exams ( the passing raw scores vary on all exams ). The passing raw score is scaled or converted to a score of 70. Your total score will be a combination of both morning and afternoon answers, therefore, attendance at both sessions is required."

Hey, just found the board and just joined. I took the Oct 07 Environmental PE exam in Cleveland, OH and I'm still waiting. I'm cautiously optimistic. It's nice to see others who've taken the "real" Env. PE exam. I've been hanging out at the "the other board" board and it seems to be dominated by Civil and Mech E's.

Anyway, it's good to be here. Hopefully I can get some good advice and even offer some of my own.

FWIW, I was really surprised by the exam itself. The morning session seemed to be almost all water which is not my strongest suit. I thought the afternoon was significantly easier. I wasn't exepecting so many regulatory questions, and I will say that the RCRA regulatory reference that I brought was a life-saver. I was also surprised at the number of qualitative questions. There just wasn't as much math as I expected.

The only good piece of advice I got prior to the exam was that the breadth was the real challenge. There are questions that you will not know unless you happen to have the right reference or have worked in the field. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Welcome fmullner! There may not be all that much action in this particular sub-forum, but us enviros are growing in number on the Board as a whole.

I know exactly what you mean on the exam. I took it in Oct. '06 and passed, but there were a number of qualitative questions that I simply had to guess on, and got wrong (based on my after-the-test research). As far as I am concerned, I smoked most of the quantitative questions, which were all simpler than the practice problems.

Unfortunately, I will probably not find out un til mid-January...my state (CO) is s...l...o...w. Thanks, though. Good luck to you as well. Did you take the full blown Environmental exam? I did, attempt #2 in Oct. '07.

I work for the Corps in the H&H section, but I do environmental work whenever the chance arises. I am looking to transfer into another section that does Superfund work. I have B.s.s in Chemistry snd Civil and an M.S. in Environmental.

Hello,I took the enviro exam in october and failed, time to try again in april. I did not buy any of the practice problem books the first time, i just bought the ncees one, do you think i should get the ones from PPI too?I've been working for a municipal consulting firm for 7 years in the water/wastewater department. I need major help in the air pollution/haz waste areas.Thanks,Andrea

Welcome, carfty! I took the Environmental exam for the third time in October, so I feel your pain. My experience was that the PPI problems went above and beyond what was on the exam; however, one can never do too many problems in preparing for the exam! I would recommend getting them. As far as Air, I had zero experience in it, but was able to get through the exam with the EnvERM and the Environmental Law Handbook. For Haz. Waste, I would also recommend going through the EnvERM, and try to find someone that can lend you Hazardous Waste Management by LaGrega. That is pretty much the holy grail on haz. waste. If you can't borrow it, it is worth the investment in buying it, IMHO. It is a great reference to have on your shelf. Good luck in April, and ask lots of questions. There is more than me here in Environmental!

^I agree 100%. I would also recommend getting a copy of "Environmental Engineering" by Salvato, et al. It's a great overall reference you will keep with you for the rest of your career, and it has a lot of info on sampling and such which I was able to answer several questions with.

The PPI practice problems are essential, I think, just to guide your studying and make you find stuff in your references. Not to mention the practice for the quantitative problems. Invaluable.

You would fit right in with the Army way of things VT. I have a question for everyone. Things are getting hot at work and I will be working lots of weekends, therefore I will be hard pressed to get as much study time as I would like. Do I gamble and take it anyways or do I wait until Fall? I have maybe 80 hours in so far but I wanted to put in another 150 or so more but that just got shot down today.

Do you have a wife and kids? If you don't have anyone to satisfy at home, I say sacrifice and work your butt off to pass in April. It's a huge load off your shoulders to have that exam behind you, and those two initials after your name. It's worth some sacrifice.

I always have an initial reaction like that when I get a bunch of work thrown at me. But in the end, I always find a way to get it all done.

New to forum, I have a BS in Environmetal and MS in Civil/Enve and been in the field for 28 years. I took/passed the ME about 20 years ago and never worked for a civil engineer to get references until now. They did change the experience requirements which helped alot, I only need 1 of my 28 years. I have been studying for about 9 month, I spend 2-4 hours nearly every day. failing is not an option.

Hi Everybody. I am an Environmental Engineer in the energy industry. 6.5 years out of school. Taking the Env Eng PE exam for the first time next month...I'm also currently 4 months pregnant, so I haven't been getting nearly as much studying done as I would like - been so tired. Basically, I'm taking a "do what I can" attitude for this one do the timing...

Good luck! I've got nothing in the way of advice for taking the exam pregnant, though, since that is simply impossible for me. But I do know of at least one person here on EB who took the exam at a much later stage in her pregnancy, and passed. You can do it!

Hi Everybody. I am an Environmental Engineer in the energy industry. 6.5 years out of school. Taking the Env Eng PE exam for the first time next month...I'm also currently 4 months pregnant, so I haven't been getting nearly as much studying done as I would like - been so tired. Basically, I'm taking a "do what I can" attitude for this one do the timing...

Wow, that's a great attitude - most people would not be willing to study and take the exam in that situation. I would struggle with sitting still for an 8 hour exam anyway, and if I was 5 months pregnant, that would just be painful.

Hope the studying, exam, and the pregnancy all go smoothly, and congratulations!